The other night I saw another “inspirational” video. This one, like all the rest, featured speeches by Rebbetzin so-and-so and Mrs. such-and-such.

The frum community acts as if there no unmarried women who have something worthwhile to say.

I would love to hear from someone who isn’t married. And not about issues related to “singleness.” Single people can speak about tznius and about shmiras haloshon and about tefillah and about any other topic you care to name. Yet the frum community acts as if we don’t exist.

It’s true that there are inyanim regarding the qualifications of married people vs. single people, with respect to, as you noted, davening for the amud and also teaching young children. However, these apply to men, not women. Unless you are saying that married women may daven for the amud on yomim noraim.

You know if you feel such a stigma for being single in YOUR community, there are others out there. You may be shocked to here this, but there are plenty of single girls who delay getting married because they want to go to university and get a real secular education so they can get a real job…I know the horror of it all…let the bashing begin on me suggesting that delaying marriage and getting an secular education is not a horrible idea:)

It’s true that as of yet there are no well-known single speakers. But if you feel you have what to give (or know other singles who do) why don’t you offer your services? You might be surprised to find out that people do value what you have to say…

BTW- a couple of years ago, in camp, we had an amazing inspirational single speaker

A single speaker is not so common but I cant think of any reason why it shouldn’t be done. I’m sure there are lots of other people who feel the same, maybe look into setting up a blog or website of some sort.

helpful pointed out that there is a preference for married people in some inyanim. you can apply it or not apply it where you choose.

And I pointed out that there is a preference* for kohanim in some inyanim. What if I choose to apply it to posting in the Coffeeroom?

In other words, just because one type is preferred in one situation does not make it valid to apply that same preference in any situation — at least not without stating the commonality between the two cases that makes them comparable.

The Wolf

* Granted, the example I chose above is not a preference but a requirement — but there are enough other areas where we give deference to kohanim that one can easily make the same argument.

I think you have a self esteem issue and maybe feel that “you don’t exist.” Saying “yet the frum community acts as if we don’t exist” is a ridiculous accusation to make. Singles very much exist and nobody pretends they don’t. If you don’t feel good about yourself don’t project it on everyone else!

Calm down, she didnt say anything against you specifically, dont take it so personally. Geez…

Being that I have no interest in being a speaker, I am not familiar with what Haifagirl is referring to. Like Kapusta pointed out there are some very inspirational female single speakers, who do a lot for the community.

In my own personal experience with being single (in the Frum community) its not so much that you dont count but your opinions are discredited, like somehow because you are single your IQ must have fallen 50 points. The little smirks and the half wave, “uch na, wait till your married…”

While I see your point, that’s still no reason to feel that you have no voice. With the rare exception of a family simcha, I’m rarely going to have a podium from which to speak. And I don’t ever see my writings getting published in a public paper (unless I pay for an Advetorial).

Know what? We are lucky to live in the digital age, so there is ALWAYS an open forum, and always an attentive audience. My chocmas may never make it to the “opinion page” of the haredi paper of record,(take your pick) but the CR is always (most of the time?) ready and eager to hear whats on my mind.

the OP is stating a fact – we treat single girls as ‘one of the girls’ and not with the respect accorded to a married woman. Of course, there is a self esteem issue – you try a 24/7 nisayon where you are up for evaluation, judged, pitied, all the time while you have to maintain the i am gorgeous, content, perfect shidduch material not a bit bitter or disillusioned even though i have been doing this for ……umpteen years. Every person should cry in shma koleinu for the pain that these singles go through – it is our tzara.

Haifagirl; do you know that Sarah Schenirer (The founder of Bais Yaakov, back in Europe.) (Who didn’t know that?!) and Lillian Wald, who initiated the Visiting Nurse service were unmarried. Yet they enjoyed the utmost respect. Besides. If someone wants to enjoy being called a Rebbetzin so and so, all they have to do is find a great grandmother’s aunt who lived in a certain Polish or Hungarian village and let everyone know that they prefer to be called the famous, world-renowned “Rebbetzin…. of Sharosh Potok or Novosibirsk”.

I don’t think anybody would really argue that only married woman should speak (to other women). I would assume the reason that married women tend to be the ones speaking is because speakers tend to be 1) older (and therefore wiser), and 2) not to dull to begin with; both factors that also increase the chance of being married.

“2) not to dull to begin with; both factors that also increase the chance of being married.”

Wow, so according to you the reason single girls are getting older and not finding shidduchim is because they are dull? I cant believe you can make such a blanket statement. If the girls blast you, its because you deserve it!

But in general, the smartest girls will get married off faster than their less intellectually gifted peers.

That can’t be further from the truth! Very often the reason a girl will have a hard time finding her zivug is because her parents want a boy who will be perfect enough for their perfect daughter. That means that the girl is smart, outgoing , pretty etc… I personally know many such girls and they are all smarter/sharper than a lot of their married classmates.

First of all smart doesnt help your chances in getting married. If anything most guys are not looking for particularly smart girls. Besides most girls are average. Thats common sense no it wouldnt be called average otherwise. That being said, there are many smart girls that are still single. If anything, I think the smart girls have a harder time especially in Yeshivish dating where the guy is often uneducated and clueless about many things while she is way above and beyond him in most areas.

The girls that tend to go fast are the ones with easy going non intimidating natures, good conversationalists, good looks, money, good family…

A small percentage of guys are actually looking for a smart girl (count me in) because they feel that their masculinity or self esteem will not be challenged in any way by a smart or more accomplished wife.

Shidduchim working out have almost nothing to do with Teva.Read any shidduch story book,even “Chicken Soup For The Soul”books.Even goyim see the incredible”luck” or divinely controlled circumstances when it comes to meeting Mr.Right(or even Mr.Wrong as it may turn out-that experience was also meant to be.)

A small percentage of guys are actually looking for a smart girl (count me in) because they feel that their masculinity or self esteem will not be challenged in any way by a smart or more accomplished wife.

But they still won’t date sacrilege apparently.

Actually, I think they are dating, but don’t want to tell us. That is understandable, it is none of our business.

First of all, I never said I wanted to speak. I said I wanted to hear from single women.

And anybody who doesn’t think singles are treated differently just isn’t paying attention. I used to get really annoyed when I was referred to as a “single girl” and someone five years (or ten years) younger would be called a “married woman.” Obviously she was thought of as an adult, while I was still thought of as a child. (I finally adjusted to being called a girl when a friend who is my age became a bubbie. At that point being a “girl” didn’t seem so bad.)

How often do you hear a child call a married woman by her first name? She’s almost always Mrs. so-and-so. The first time I spent a Shabbos with a frum family I was shocked when they had their children calling me by my first name. I was an adult and I didn’t consider myself in the same peer group with a 2-year-old. Those children, now some of whom are married with children of their own, still call me by my first name. However, the mother of these children gets offended when her friends’ teenage children call her by her first name.

All I meant to say was that the women speaking at public events tend to be top shidduch prospects, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they tend to be married. That said, yes, I do think smart girls are more in demand than not so smart girls. But you’re all free to disagree with me.

blueberrymuffin:

“Very often the reason a girl will have a hard time finding her zivug is because her parents want a boy who will be perfect enough for their perfect daughter.”

Then the problem is in the parents being picky, not in the girl being smart.

tzippi:

“I thought the opposite of dull was interesting, not smart.”

I meant dull intellectually. But generally you are right, dull is used as the opposite of interesting.

smartcookie:

“what a wrong,untrue, and bad statement.”

I can see why one would say my comment was “wrong,” or “untrue” – after all, we’re dealing with something that’s rather hard to prove for certain here. But what about my comment was “bad”?

if you look around, you’ll see that there’s no rhyme or reason to why some people are single and others are married. you have the prettiest, smartest girls still single, the prettiest, smartest girls divorced, and the prettiest, smartest girls married. and the same goes for the dumbest, plainest girls being single, divorced, or married. go figure.